Today on BBC Radio Scotland, David Whitton MSP, formerly aide to first First Minister Donald Dewar, admitted that “a box in Leith for £40million” was rejected by the Labour leader at Holyrood.

In an item marking the tenth anniversary of Dewar’s death on Derek Bateman’s show, Whitton revealed the reasoning that led to the Parliament building cost fiasco.

A realistic plan to build the new Scottish Parliament beside the newly built luxurious Scottish Executive HQ at Victoria Quay which had cost £20 million was rejected by Dewar as “a box in Leith”.

Victoria Quay is almost as long as the Titanic and houses 2200 civil servants with luxury facilities. When the costs of a similar building for the Parliament beside the Executive HQ were estimated, £40million was budgeted for 800 legislators, staff, a Chamber and visitors. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/holyrood/inquiry/sp205-03.htm

After the Labour leader’s commitment wasting over £400 million building the execrable Holyrood parliament the Labour led financial gourmanding only ended AFTER losing the 2007 election; forcing the waste of over £500million on the unwanted Edinburgh Trams.

Now Labour are promising to spend £100 billion(lifetime costs) on a Trident replacement, billions more on carriers and American aircraft so that England can still pretend to be a major power , millions more on GARL and on and on all supported by ConDems.

With Labour’s record on vanity projects laid bare from the beginning by Whitton its time the Government demonstrated some clear blue water between the SNP and the rest.